MOUNT HOPKINS, AZ – Lord knows I have reported on just about every horrifying death imaginable, but every now and then one comes around that has me thinking about the victim and muttering, “You poor, poor son of a bitch.”

On Monday, 55-year-old Steven Johnson was found dead in the Santa Rita Mountains hanging from his rappelling gear and covered in bee stings. The dog Johnson often took with him was also found dead and covered in bee stings on the cliff Johnson had rappelled from.

Johnson, an experienced hiker and mountain climber, was reportedly working an area of Mount Hopkins on Friday to prepare it for future climbers. Sheriff’s deputies went to search the site after he failed to show up for work on Monday.

An autopsy will be conducted to determine actual cause of death, but Santa Cruz County’s Lt. Raoul Rodriguez believes that Johnson may have disturbed a bees’ nest while hammering his ropes into the cliff. Some comments state that this is a terrible time of year in regards to bees, and some mentioned that the bees that attacked Johnson and his dog were probably the dreaded Africanized Honey Bee, aka the true Killer Bee.…